UA Stirling Shearling Sale

Stirling Blackface Shearling Rams

Averages:

587 shearling rams, £1393 (+£272 for three less sold).

Blackface sheep breeders had plenty to smile about at United Auctions’ sale at Stirling where an increased demand for big, scouthy shearling rams from all areas of Scotland and well into England not only saw a new centre high of £60,000 but also improved averages.

Such was the demand that shearling averages soared by £272 per head on the year and for just three fewer compared to the same sale last year. Even without the £60,000 sale leader from Willie and Ewan Bennie, Merkins, Gartocharn, averages were up by a massive £170 on last year’s event which saw a sale high of £16,000 also from Merkins.

George Purves, managing director at United Auctions said it had been a great sale from the very start. “It was a fantastic sale and one of the busiest with more people looking to buy Blackface rams than ever,” he said. “It was one of the best shows of tups we’ve seen here and it drew a wider net of buyers from north of Inverness and into the North of England and further south,” Mr Purves said pointing out that clearance rates were an impressive 96%.

Furthermore, while unforgivable numbers of sheep have been put off the hills in recent years to make way for forestry or rewilding schemes, Mr Purves stressed that there remains a huge demand for Blackface females with their main breeding female sale two weeks previous witnessing significantly higher averages and many potential buyers going home empty-handed.

While the majority of consignors saw improved averages, it was Willie and Ewen Bennie’s 1550-strong ewe flock from Merkins that enjoyed the day most, producing the £60,000 sale leader and the top average at £6677 for 13.

Most of their tups were sons of a £70,000 Dalchirla shearling bought at Dalmally in 2022 to include the sale leader and three at £4000. Topping the trade was the pen leader which also stood male champion at Abington Show. He is out of a ewe by a £14,000 Glenrath and sold in a four-way split to Malcolm Coubrough, Whelphill and Hartside, Lammington, John and Iain Finlay, Blackcraig, Corsock and Jimmy Wallace, Fingland, and the Ramsays, Milnmark, both Dalry, Castle Douglas.

Second-top price was £11,000 paid for another massive ram, this time from Alan Smith, Wester Crosswoodhill, West Calder. His No 2, sired by a £4000 Craigdarroch, bought in 2020, is out of a ewe by a home-bred sire that goes back to a Blackhouse genetics. He sold jointly to Inverness-based breeders A and J Macpherson, Abersky, Dores, and A Macdonald, Ess and Dalbuiack, Carrbridge.

Two shearlings sold for £10,000 early in the day with the first from Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie, selling in a two-way split to Colin McClymont, Cuil, Palnure, Newton Stewart, and Rob Hannah, High Balyett, Stranraer. Their purchase, a son of a £12,000 Dyke shearling sold last year at Lanark, is out of a ewe by a £3500 Gass.

Dyke also took £5500 for their pen leader, a son of a £30,000 Nunnerie, bred from a ewe by a £17,000 Midlock. The buyer was Neil Anderson who manages Professor Penny’s Harehead and Bothwell farms at Cranshaws, Duns.

Matching that £10,000 sale was the No 7 from Willie Dunlop and sons Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, Innerwick, Dunbar, purchased by Gerard McGinn, Chirmorrie, Barrhill. For his money, he gets a son of a £125,000 Nunnerie lamb bought at Lanark in 2021, out of a ewe by a £5000 Elmscleugh.

Elmscleugh’s No 3, by a £40,000 Midlock and out of a ewe by a home-bred son of a £160,000 Dalchirla, made £5000 selling jointly to Alastair and David MacArthur, Nunnerie, Elvanfoot and Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, Errol, Perth.

Sons of a £32,000 Glenrath shearling, of which a share was bought at Lanark in 2022, proved popular for Burncastle Farming Co, Lauder, managed by Alan Rogerson and herded by James Brady, who sold sons at £8000, £3800 and £3000. Dearest was the No 5, bred from a ewe by a £900 Easter Happrew, which was knocked down to John Matheson, Milton of Aberarder, Aberarder, Dores.

Just behind on £7800, the Ramsays, Milnmark, who were selling in the main ring for the first time, sold their pen leader to Ian Campbell, Glenrath, Peebles. The pedigree behind this lad includes a £5000 Fingland bought at Ayr in 2022 onto a ewe by a £22,000 Lurg.

Ian Hunter’s Dalchirla consignment, Crieff, also sold well with two shearlings at £7500, and others at £4000 and £3800. The tups brought out with assistance of his brother, Alan, first saw the pen leader make £7500 to Ewen Macmillan, Traquair Hill, Innerleithen. He is sired by a home-bred son of a £100,000 Midlock retained for breeding while the dam is by a £20,000 Midlock.

Matching that £7500 price was a son of a £45,000 Nunnerie, out of a daughter of a £24,000 Connachan. He sold jointly to Duncan MacGregor, Burnhead, Kilsyth and Alasdair Robb, Townhead, Stirling.

The first ram into the ring got the sale off to a flying start, when the pen leader from the breed’s vice-president, Derek Redpath, The Yett, Kelso, made £5500 for the 750-strong ewe flock. He is sired by a £2200 Dyke tup bought here in 2022 and out of a ewe by a home-bred ram that sold for £6500. He was another purchased by R Macdonald, Abersky, Dores.

Two others sold for £5500 with the first from Iain and John Renwick, Corsebank, Sanquhar. A son of a Hartside Lammermuir ram used on loan, out of a ewe by an £11,000 Glenrath, he was the pick of Alan Smith, Wester Crosswood Hill.

Matching that price tag, Selby Robson, Yatesfield, Otterburn, sold a shearling son of a £10,000 Dyke out of a ewe by a £6000 Glenrath. He was purchased in a three-way partnership between Scott and Alan Lambie, Ashcraig, Selkirk; Angus Kennedy and son Angus, Mitchellhill, Broughton, Biggar; and Billy Graham and his father Willie, Craigdarroch, Sanquhar.

Top price for Ian Campbell’s Glenrath flock Peebles, managed by Steven Renwick, was £5000 paid for a son of a £48,000 Blackhouse purchased by John Matheson, Milton of Aberarder.

Auctioneers: United Auctions

OTHER LEADING prices

Shearling rams – £4800 – JW Kay, Gass, by a £48,000 Midlock to Cadogan Estate, Lynemore, Dunkeld; Kirkland Farming, Sanquhar, by a home-bred son of a £16,000 Kirkland, to A Paton and Co, Craig, Straiton; J Wight and Sons, Midlock, by a £62,000 Loughash, to Firm of JS Shaw, West Lethans, Saline, Dunfermline.

£4500 – R and S Duncan, Livet, by a £16,000 Blackhouse, to Corrylorn Farm Partnership, Kilninver, Oban; J and MJ Hamilton, Crosswood Hill, by a £32,000 Glenrath, to A Murray and Sons, Sewingshields, Haydon Bridge, Hexham; W Graham and Son, Craigdarroch, by a £32,000 Elmscleugh, to A and A Provan, Parkhall

£4200 – Renwick Bros, Corsebank, by a £4200 Hartside, Lamington, to WA Penny, Cranshaws, Duns.

£4000 – T and M Paterson, Dunruchan, by a £5000 Dalblair to A and A Provan, Parkhall, Douglas; Dalchirla, by a £22,000 Dalchirla sold in 2023, to M Coltman, Haystoun, Peebles and G Thornborrow Contract Farming; Merkins, by a £70,000 Dalchirla, to R and H Braid, Leithenhall, Wamphray, Dumfries; Merkins, by a £70,000 Dalchirla, to N Manning, Earlshaugh, Tweedsmuir; Merkins, by a £70,000 Dalchirla, to K Taylor and Son, Dall, Killin; Ashcraig, by a £16,000 Elmscleugh, to RH Bell and Co, Roxburgh Mill, Kelso.

£3800 – Dunruchan, by a £10,000 Williamhope to AJ Robb, Townhead, Stirling; Dalchirla, by a home-bred son of a £100,000 Midlock, to Firm of WA Macfarlane, Drumgrange, Patna.

FLOCK averages

Ring One

Ring 2